30th Jul 2010, 22:38
Greetings all. I have a 2002 AU3 XR8 220kw Windsor beats - and I love it. Colour is Congo Green and actually looks almost black when polished.
The low profile tires give a bit of a hard ride, but when turning it's like being on rails - you go where you point the nose and that's it!!
As for power, the 220 is magic. I use the car to commute to work daily, about 35km in heavy traffic (Melbourne freeway and Westgate Bridge), but the economy is OK. If I don't hoon it, the weekly cost is about $20 more than my old EL Fairmont (3.9 litre) - more than acceptable. However, when those mad 'SS' drivers want to have a wee show-off, the green machine more than puts them in their place.
Love my car. Russell.
2nd Oct 2010, 23:18
I have owned my XR8 since new, and still love driving it, and have only replaced the brakes and battery, and covered 147 000ks. Saddest part is time has caught up with its performance, and my FG Turbo eats it. Still, the sound is V8 only, the car is still in perfect condition, and I will keep it for as long as possible.
4th Apr 2011, 00:36
What a great car these are. I had a new manual and used to get 750 gentle kms out of a tank of gas. It was a great handler too.
I traded it on a new Monaro in 05 - a big mistake. Now my son is getting keen on sharing a car with me - perhaps it's time to give an old XR8 a look...
Kelly.
26th Feb 2012, 15:07
Further to my comments above of 2 years ago - my Green Machine still drives like new!! Just had a rebuild done on the diff - was a bit noisy. Apparently when Borg Warner put them together, they are too tight from the factory - so most of them get diff issues at some stage.
Coupled with that, it had a full service and tune up, and I would bet is going better now than it did when it first left the factory in June 2002!
As above, I love my XR8 and look for any excuse to drive it. Put a new set of 235/40/18 Falken boots on it as well recently - and sticks to the road like super glue.
Probably the best car I have ever owned (been a few).
Russell.
2nd Oct 2014, 06:34
Hi, I have a 2002 AU II SR. Can anyone explain the SR, as in what it means please?
25th Aug 2008, 06:41
I'm looking at getting a 2002 S3 XR8 with 93000km on the clock, Viper Red, Leather and really good condition for $14,000.00. Private sale.